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Northeast Lantern: From Spreadsheets to Cloud ERP
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Manufacturing System Automation
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Northeast Lantern, a manufacturer of handcrafted, solid brass and copper lighting fixtures, was relying on a system of management by spreadsheet. As the company grew, the spreadsheets became more of a problem than a solution. With no formal system for inventory or engineering and no single database, the company was struggling with growth. They had no control over their inventory because they didn’t know at any one time what they had in inventory for a specific part, finished good or subassembly. Reporting was also a manual task that was time-consuming and inefficient. The company knew that further growth would require a modern ERP solution.
About The Customer
Northeast Lantern is a company based in Exeter, New Hampshire, that has been manufacturing and selling handcrafted, solid brass and copper lighting fixtures since 1987. The company employs 45 people and produces high-quality lighting fixtures for retail showrooms, online distributors, web stores, designers, and the hospitality industry. Customers have a wide array of product customization options, including different finishes and glass options. Northeast Lantern augments their standard fixtures with custom lighting fixtures, as over 20% of their products are customized pieces. To maintain the high quality of their handcrafted products, Northeast Lantern employs skilled craftsmen who use original manufacturing methods.
The Solution
Northeast Lantern chose Rootstock Cloud ERP to replace their spreadsheet-heavy manual processes. The company was looking for a system to help them plan production and catalog all items into a single database. They wanted to see the connections between the parts and where they would be used to get control of inventory and production inefficiencies. Rootstock Cloud ERP offered several advantages including MRP, Sandbox, QuickBooks integration, and Salesforce Platform. The implementation process was slow due to the lack of an original database, over 25,000 individual SKUs, and limited resources. However, the company spent a lot of time preparing their data to ensure the accuracy of their data once the new system was up and running.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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